...in that 'cheap shot' thread, but by the time I should have posted this, the thread had slipped into GDG beyond the title. So, FWIW, here's what another columnist had to say about the SCOTUS decision, that is "right on".

UB

Supreme Court Decision on Political Speech Was Correct

Thursday, 28 Jan 2010 09:33 AM

By: George Will

Last week's Supreme Court decision that substantially deregulates political speech has provoked an edifying torrent of hyperbole.

Critics' dismay reveals their conviction: Speech about the elections that determine the government's composition is not a constitutional right but a mere privilege that exists at the sufferance of government.

How regulated did political speech become during the decades when the court was derelict in its duty to actively defend the Constitution? The Federal Election Commission, which administers the law that rations the quantity and regulates the content and timing of political speech, identifies 33 types of political speech and 71 kinds of "speakers."

The underlying statute and FEC regulations cover more than 800 pages, and FEC explanations of its decisions have filled more than 1,200 pages. The First Amendment requires 10 words for a sufficient stipulation: "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech."

Extending the logic of a 1976 decision, the court has now held that the dissemination of political speech requires money, so restricting money restricts speech.

Bringing law into conformity with this 1976 precedent, the court has struck down only federal and state laws that forbid independent expenditures (those not made directly to, or coordinated with, candidates' campaigns by corporations and labor unions.

Under the censorship regime the court has overturned, corporations were even forbidden to send political communications to all of their employees.

The New York Times calls the court's decision, which enables political advocacy by (other) corporations, a "blow to democracy." The Times, a corporate entity, can engage in political advocacy because Congress has granted "media corporations" an exemption from limits.

The Washington Post, also exempt, says the court's decision, which overturned a previous ruling upholding restrictions on spending for political speech, shows insufficient "respect for precedent."

Does the Post think the court incorrectly overturned precedents that upheld racial segregation and warrantless wiretaps? Are the only sacrosanct precedents those that abridge (others') right to speak?

Alarmists say the court's ruling will mean torrential spending by large for-profit corporations. Anna Burger, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union — it has spent $20 million on politics in the last five election cycles — says a corporation will "funnel its shareholders' money straight to a campaign's coffers." Wrong.

If for-profit corporations do plunge into politics, disclosure of their spending will enable voters to draw appropriate conclusions. Of course, political speech regulations radiate distrust of voters' abilities to assess unfettered political advocacy.

Mitchell says the court's decision primarily liberates nonprofit advocacy groups, such as the Sierra Club, which the FEC fined $28,000 in 2006. The club's sin was to distribute pamphlets in Florida contrasting the environmental views of the presidential and senatorial candidates, to the intended advantage of Democrats. FEC censors deemed this an illegal corporate contribution.

Barack "Pitchfork" Obama, in his post-Massachusetts populist mode, called the court's ruling a victory for, among others, "big oil" and "Wall Street banks." But opensecrets.org reports that in 2008 lawyers gave more money than either of those, and gave 78 percent of it to Democrats, who also received 64 percent of contributions from the financial sector.

Even if it were Congress' business to decide that there is "too much" money in politics, that decision would be odd: In the 2007-08 election cycle, spending in all campaigns, for city council members up to the presidency, was $8.6 billion, about what Americans spend annually on potato chips.

Undaunted, advocates of government control of political speech want Congress to enact public financing of congressional campaigns, and to ban individuals from participating in politics through contributions.

Fortunately, this idea — "food stamps for politicians" — is wildly unpopular. Public financing of presidential campaigns has collapsed. Obama disdained it in 2008; the public always has. Voluntary, cost-free participation, using the check-off on the income tax form, peaked at a paltry 28.7 percent in 1980 and by 2008 had sagged to 8.3 percent.

This is redundant proof that the premise of campaign finance "reform" is false. The premise is that easily befuddled Americans need to be swaddled in regulations of political speech.

02-06-2010, 07:09 PM

YardleyLabs

I generally enjoy George Wills' comments tremendously and agree with his overall assessment of the hyperbole concerning reactions to the Supreme ourt rulings. I disagree with the Supreme Court decision, but believe that the best arguments against it are those put forward in the dissenting opinion authored by Justice Stevens. Basically, the dissenting justices argue:

The majority opinion grants corporations, as a whole, rights that go far beyond any prior Court decisions, any intent of the framers or any legislative mandate, and that by doing so that they are effectively rewriting the law.

The majority errs against its own standards of stare decisis in overturning the Austin precedent based on adjudicating issues that were not even part of the appeal. Specifically, the appeal actually stipulated acceptance of the appropriateness of the law regulating corporate activities,and only challenged whether or not the specific application of the law to their documentary was consistent with the law given that the documentary was only being offered through video on demand and did not incorporate any of the communication vehicles anticipated in the law. By overturning a precedent in the absence of a specific challenge, the Court violated its own guidelines. It also failed to exercise the more limited grounds available for overturning the lower court decision based on questions about the applicability of the law.

From a technical perspective, the majority overstates the first amendment issues since nothing in the law prevented the "documentary" from being aired. The only restriction was on how soon prior to the election it was being aired. Thus, defendants wanted to air the film on the day before the election to maximize its impact on the vote while not providing the candidate (Hilary Clinton) to respond in any fashion. That is exactly the type of abuse that the law sought to prevent.

In my mind, there are a few interesting approaches that could be pursued in light of the Court's decision. One would be to prohibit any corporation that engages in financing direct or indirect electioneering activity, as defined in the law, from receiving any funds from Federal or Federally supported sources to prevent any appearance of undue influence. Second would be to make corporations fully liable, under both criminal and civil law, for any injuries from libelous comments made as part of direct or indirect electioneering activities and to remove any defense based on the public stature of the person or entities libeled.